frog protection. fraud protection. frog. fraud. fro-g. frau-d. i think we're on the same page. we're totally on the same page. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. fraud protection. get it at discover.com next on next on "meet the press," the racial divide in america. new developments this morning as the slaying of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer turns a st. louis suburb into a combat zone. the search for answers in the national debate over race and policing that prompted president obama to weigh in once again. i'll be joined by the governor of missouri and key voices from law enforcement and the political world. and taking on the isis threat. does president obama's refusal to intervene in syria doom attempts to stop the terror group from taking hold in iraq and beyond? and just how deep is the rift between hillary clinton and the president on the use of force in

the middle east? plus, remembering a comic genius. as the world mourns the death of robin williams, our harry smith has an insightful interview with barry levinson, director of williams' breakout movie, "good morning, vietnam." >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, this is "meet the press." >> good morning. a state of emergency is now in effect in ferguson, missouri, after another night marred by clashes between protesters and police. a group of protesters defying a new overnight curfew were met by the continued massive military-style police response with armored vehicles, tear gas, and smoke bombs. seven people were arrested for violating the curfew, one person was had you are the in an unrelated shooting. and more controversy friday as ferguson police released the name of darren wilson, the police officer who shot michael brown. the release would sas accompania surveillance tape that linked brown to a convenience store robbery, but then ferguson's

police chief issued conflicting statements as to whether the confrontation was even related to the robbery and adding to the confusion and anger of protesters. no details about the exact circumstances still of the shooting of michael brown have been released. i'm joined by the governor of missouri, jay nixon. governor, thank you for being with us. tell me, why has a full week lapsed and we still do not know anything? the public wants answers to what happened between michael brown and the white officer who shot and killed him. >> well, it's been a dhal lenging week with the horrific week of michael brown, shot down in the streets of his hometown and the appropriate energy and angst that everyone has had around there. i think with the dual investigations going on right now, with the justice department and with the local prosecutor and after talking to general holder, i've appreciated them sending in 40 additional fbi agents to make sure that they're moving to get a thorough investigation, to get justice here, and i appreciate that

response and that energy to make sure that they get this right. >> but why is it taking so long and you also have a county prosecutor who many say has a conflict of interest here because he said that he disagreed strongly with your decision to bring in the county police. he called it shameful saying he thought that was, in fact, an illegal decision. so how is he the person that would be trusted by this very angry and resentful community to come up with answers that are credible? >> well, he's a seasoned prosecutor that has an opportunity to step up here and do his job, and also though when you see a dual investigation going on and the resources of the justice department and fbi agents out working in the community yet again yesterday, 40 additional officers, i think that having those dual investigations will help guarantee that this gets done in a timely fashion, that it's done thoroughly, and that it gets justice. >> isn't it more important to get answers, correct answers,

but answers to the public? what is a timely investigation? what is taking so long about telling the people whond to michael brown? >> well, it's been a week and it's been a very long week and late in the week when we saw the additional militarization of the police response and there and the security side i had to take an unprecedented action which was to replace and bring in our highway patrol to lead that. i think that that has made a big difference. you saw that first might very much peace, second night until late in the night there was peace, and last night i think the vast majority of the local citizens, the local elected officials and others called on me to put a curfew in place so we could guarantee peace late last night and of the thousands of protesters and the community members out there, i think they made a difference. in order to get justice, we need peace. those are both intertwined here. we look forward to keeping the peace and getting justice. >> governor, there was peace, there was peace on thursday night after you appointed the

county police to come in and take over, the state police rather to take over from the county, but then the local police chief released that video. what justifies releasing the video about the convenience store while there's still no details about what happened with the shooting itself? that is what caused everything to erupt against on friday night and eventually led to the curfew having to be imposed. >> yeah, we and our security team and the highway patrol did not know that was going to be released. i don't think the attorney general knew that, and, quite frankly, we disagree deeply i think for two reasons. number one, to attempt to in essence disparage the character of this victim in the middle of a process like this is not right. it's just not right. and secondarily, it did put the community and, quite frankly, the region and the nation, you know, on alert again. this is -- these are old wounds. these are deep wounds between -- in these communities, and that

action was not helpful. >> well, should the police chief, chief jackson, then be fired or have to step down? >> well, i mean, we've moved the highway patrol in to manage security. the justice department and the detectives of st. louis are doing the investigation. >> but with all due respect, governor, he's still doing things like releasing that video without even reporting to the state police captain, captain johnson, who is supposed to be in charge. >> well, everyone can rest well assured we've had very serious discussions about that action and how much we thought that it was not the right way to handle the victim's family which i had a chance to speak with. they were deeply troubled. when you see your son gunned down in the street and then you see a police chief begin an attempt to attack his character, that's just not the way to operate, and we made that clear to everyone and our hope and

expectation is that now there are folks in charge of security and we have these dual investigations going on, that that bump is behind us hopefully. >> governor -- >> but the wounds are very real. >> i know you say you were doing a lot of things behind the scenes but why did it take you until friday to get to ferguson, what they call ground zero, and when did you first hear from the president about all this? >> i've been involved all week. i was having meetings and phone calls and meetings with local officials, been here a number of times, and once again yesterday in a morning conference call with local officials that asked me to put a curfew in place to make sure we had safety as well as peace so this community could be safe. so we've been here all week. i have been here most of the days, and i talked to the president in the middle part of the week. i talked to general holder at some length later in the week and i appreciate deeply after that conversation general holder and the fbi sending 40 additional fbi officers in to

make sure they're getting a thorough but timely investigation here and i think that's helping. >> thank you so much, governor nixon, from missouri. while the events in ferguson have shocked the nation, focusing renewed attention on the racial disparities that still xig in our justice system. our kevin tibbles takes a closer look at the situation. >> reporter: a week of unrest and racial tension. in today's america, black men are six times more likely to be incarcerated than white men. prison sentences for black men are 20% longer than those for whites convicted of the same crime. and on average 100 black people are killed each year by white police officers. >> they had to get america's attention. they had to get america to take notice of their pain. >> reporter: james clark is a st. louis community activist who says he sees the disparity every day. >> crime is going up.

the perpetrators are now getting younger and younger, and there is a fundamental reason why, because they're living in subcultures that mainstream would rather act like doesn't exist. >> reporter: but they do exist, and some maintain there are two americ americas, one white, one black, and they are not equal. greg howard is a columnist who was so outraged he wrote an essay entitled "america is not for black people." >> we're seeing so many black men killed by police officers because police officers don't value black men's life as they do, you know, that of white people. it's physically easier for a police officer to weigh what a black man's life is worth and to end up feeling that he's justified in pulling the trigger. >> reporter: heather mcdonald strongly disagrees. >> i found the opposite. the criminalology profession has

been trying for decades to prove that the overrepresentation of blacks in prison or in arrest statistics is a result of criminal justice racism. it is black crime rates that predict the presence of blacks in the criminal justice system, not some mischair raj of justice. >> reporter: still in ferguson, as in many other impoverished urban communities, the authorities are often seen as the enemy. >> stay behind the line! >> after the cameras leave and after young michael is buried, if we don't reach into the neighborhoods, they will become more bold, they will become much more brazen. >> reporter: the death of a young man in suburban st. louis resonates across the nation, but will it encourage solutions or create further division? for "meet the press," kevin tibbles. >> and to discuss the broader meaning of ferguson for the rest of the country, i'm joined by wesley lowery, he's been covering the story for "the

washington post" and he had his own encounter with ferguson police that he shot on tape. he was arrested and released without being charged there on wednesday. and also here is gilbert bailon, editor of "the st. louis post dispatch." stephanie rawlings-blake, mayor of baltimore. charles ogletree, professor at harvard law school. and from los angeles, bernard parks, former chief of the l.a. police department and now a member of the los angeles city council. welcome all. wesley, first to you, you were on the streets that awful night and all week really. what has been the response now to the local police and the curfew as the state police have taken over? >> of course, i think we've seen a lot of community leaders and members, protesters, organizers who really tried to abide by the curfew. as i was talking to people on the plane, reporters on the ground, the community wanted to respect this curfew by and large. there were certainly a group of people who stayed past the

curfew, protesters and some people who were looking for trouble. we have a real anger on the ground here and you have not just an anger among protesters and residents, but people who are seeing this as an opportunity to come into ferguson from outside the ferguson tier opportunistically to cause trouble or as a way of saying this is a way of having some voice. that this protest is happening here, these clashes are happening here, so maybe i don't live in ferguson but i can come here and express my voice. there were chants of we have the right to peacefully assemble back at the police after they said you're violating the curfew. >> gilbert bailon, the backstory here is there are 90 municipalities around st. louis. there is a deep racial divide. there's a history of police harassment, and you've got a police team here led by a chief who released that video about the convenience store without telling any of his then superiors, and you've got three black officers and 50 white

officers with a town that is 67% african-american. >> well, it's interesting to know the history of this town. it's been incorporated for more than 100 years. it has historic areas, and people have been beginning to change in the last few decades. the african-american population grew. what has not grown with that is the political representation, the economic opportunity. they feel very isolated and additionally a deep mistrust for the police there. we have a story today where people report being harassed, being profiled, being asked questions about why they're even in the neighborhood. that's their feeling. the police will say there's a crime problem in this area and we have to enforce it to keep the public safety. so that's the clash we have. this is not unique to ferguson. i think many, many cities in our region and many cities throughout the country have similar issues. >> but a lot of people, mayor, were shocked by the militarization that we saw on wednesday night, and we've seen this -- it started in 1996 and

1997 as an anti-drug war component but then it became up armored vehicles, the kind of surplus defense vehicles. i think more than $60 million in the last five years was spent in the st. louis area alone. does baltimore have the same kind of equipment and who decides when it gets used? >> well, we have some equipment that is being -- that's used for emergencies, emergency preparedness, and up and down the east coast especially after 9/11 our region has armed ourselves for that type of emergency. it's very unusual that it would be used against your own citizens. so i don't understand that decision. we have -- there's a sacred bond that the police have with the community, and when it's broken, it has ripple effects in that community and across the country. people don't want their military equipment being used on them when they're just voicing their opinions. you have to be very careful.

we had the occupy wall street movement, baltimore is one of the only cities that was able to break up that encampment without any arrests or any problems because we were very judicious in the use of force. you have to be. you don't get do-overs with things like this. >> yet even your city is 63% african-american, yet your police and fire departments don't fully reflect that racial background. you have tried to have more community policing, tried to do something with hiring and promotions. we talked about this this week, but it still hasn't worked fully. >> we're determined to get it right. the issue is you can't do the same thing you did year after year knowing you have a shift in the demographics and expect things to happen differently. we are doing things differently in the fire department, in the police department. we have members of the community who are now a part of the panel when we are putting fire officers or police officers up for promotions. so the community has a voice in who responds, who are the first responders in their community. you have to do it on a

consistent basis. you can't just show up after something has happened and think you're going to have that level of trust that is necessary in a crisis. >> charles ogletree, we have seen some interestingly diverse voices around the nation this week. one leading republican who may well be running for president, rand paul, wrote when you couple this militarization of law enforcement with an erosion of civil liberties and due process that allows the police to become judge and jury, we begin to have a very serious problem. given the racial disparities in our criminal justice system, it is impossible for african-americans not to feel like their government is particularly targeting them. >> i think rand paul is telling the truth. this is a problem, and what's going on in ferguson, missouri, is now like any other city. it's never going to change. the conflict between african-americans who are arrested too often, too young, too many times by white police officers, and this is a

predominantly black community and you have these white officers who don't live there, who aren't a part of the community, who don't know the community and yet they're given all the power to make things happen. we need to have a change in the sense right now and i'll tell you what, people think that three days of rioting is the end of it in ferguson, missouri. it's just starting. people are upset. they're frustrated. they want to take their city back. they don't like the fact that the black men -- young are being stopped and killed. how many people have to bury young people for people to understand that something is wrong in ferguson, missouri? and i think we have to change that right now. we have to change that urgently. the governor, the mayor, everybody involved, and i appreciate the fact that the federal government is involved in it with president obama and with attorney general eric holder, but we need a lot more to happen, a lot more to get going. >> in fact, i think with a 67% african-american community, the arrest rate is 93% or 83% is the

arrest rate. the incarceration rate is 93% african-american. >> that's exactly right. >> it shows you the targeting. bernard parks you were a police chief in a complicated place, los angeles, and now a member of the city council. the disengagement in ferguson is extraordinary. it's not just the police department that's virtually all white. it's the city council and the school board. they're not electing people who represent them ethnically or racially. >> i think it was very important as we've watched the coverage of this incident is that we've not heard in my judgment one word from the mayor or the city council members. you hear from the governor. you hear from the highway patrol. you hear from the st. louis county police, and i think one of the issues that is going to have to be addressed, what is the recovery plan for this city? when is the ferguson police going to get reintroduced to the community so they can begin to work on relationships. when is the community in

addition to raising their hands as to a protest become activists and that energy goes into elections and voting so they can take that role that they request to be a part of city government? showing up at council meetings, electing representation. these are things that should be on the table on the recovery of ferguson because this issue is going to pass. you're going to have the shooting investigation completed. the fbi, eventually all those people will go home. how are the citizens going to interact with ferguson elected officials and the police department, the personnel department, and all those decisionmakers once everyone else goes home. >> and let's go around the table. what can be done, what do you think is the most important thing that should be done to try to move beyond the anger and the disengage snment. >> i think there needs to be a release of information. one of the biggest issue as i talked to hundreds of protesters over the last few days, hundreds

of residents, there's still no police narrative provided whatsoever as to why officer wilson was interacting with michael brown, why he pulled his gun, why after the first shot he continued firing, and i think that that is where -- that's the core of the anger and the core of the frustration is there's been so little information. there's been an open hostility towards members of the press trying to get that information. do i think that would calm things completely? not at all. i don't know if there's a plausible pathway forward that's peaceful because i don't know. but i think that we need some more information. >> what was the range? how close was he? where did he shoot him? we don't have any of that information. >> exactly. i think first thing that needs to happen, you need to arrest officer wilson. he shot and killed a man, shot him multiple times, and he's walking free. no one knows anything about him. no one knows why he did it. number two, the curfew -- i

appreciate it, mayor, it's very important, but that's not the answer. you have to have a dialogue with people who are frustrated, who are angry, who are mad at what's going on in ferguson, missouri. until that happens, until there is a dialogue, people are going to continue to go out, continue to in a sense show their disobedience. if you think about it, john lewis, who i think is coming on this program later, we have a lot of lessons to learn from him. he was beaten on the edmund p pettipe pettis bridge. someone who was beaten, who run for congress, was a young nonviolent person and still believes in nonviolence, his message has to be listened to by not just seniors but young people who are wondering what am i going to do? they're going to be mad until something happens to make a change. >> that's a perfect introduction to john lewis. we should point out there is a continuing curfew not only in

ferguson but a continuing curfew as well in baltimore city. i'm joined now by congressman john lewis, democratic congressman from atlanta who, of course, marched with dr. martin luther king, jr. more than half a vent ri ago and survived that brutal beating by police in birmingham, alabama. congressman, what do you see as the solutions going forward for this terrible situation in ferguson, missouri? >> well, i think it's important for people to come together and begin a dialogue, begin to talk. that's what we did during the '60s when we had difficulty, when we had disorder. black people and white people came together. in a place like ferguson, and it's not just ferguson, it may be ferguson today, but tomorrow it could be some place else, we have to get police officers, local elected officials to respect the dignity and the

worth of every human being. it's a shame and a disgrace that in a city that is almost 70% african-american to have only three african-american police officers. ferguson, it's not in the american south, but we're doing much better in the small towns and cities in georgia and alabama and mississippi. this is shameful. this is a disgrace. we must teach people the way of peace, the way of love, the way of nonviolence, but we cannot have peace and order without justice. >> well, how would you persuade people there that they can believe in their local authorities, that they should actually participate in elections, run for office when they have -- when they're being harassed by their local police and when we see what the police chief did just on friday? >> well, i think that the police

chief and the mayor and other local officials have a moral obligation and responsibility to literally apologize to the community, and the city mothers and city fathers should come together and fashion -- reach out to the african-american community and say we're going to work together for the common good. we all live in this city together and we've got to learn to live together as brothers and sisters as dr. king would say or we're going to perish as fools. >> congressman, i know you voted against it, but does congress bear some responsibility for the militarization of local police departments around the country? >> well, i was watching the film for this coming out of ferguson. it looked like it was in baghdad or some other war-torn zone. you know, ferguson is a part of the united states of america.

it's not china. it's not russia. it's not the congo, it's america. people have a right to protest. people have a right to engage in peaceful, nonviolent action. and the press has a right to cover what is going on. >> thanks so much congressman john lewis and to all our other guests on this issue. next, the u.s. has launched more air strikes targeting islamic extremists in iraq this weekend. was it president obama's failure to intervene in syria that fueled the rise of isis in the first place? hillary clinton seems to think so. our round table will discuss coming up next. >> announcer: "meet the press" is brought to you by boeing, where the drive to build something better inspires us every day. when it comes to good nutrition...i'm no expert. that would be my daughter -- hi dad. she's a dietitian. and back when i wasn't eating right, she got me drinking boost. it's got a great taste, and it helps give me the nutrition i was missing.

helping me stay more like me. [ female announcer ] boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. grandpa! [ female announcer ] stay strong, stay active with boost.

this is bill. grandpa! his doubleheader day at the park starts with back pain... and a choice. take 4 advil in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. peanuts! peanuts! crowd cheers!

the plight of the yazidis in iraq has brought a group into the limelight. we learn more about who the yazidis are and what he told the white house about his dire circumstances. see that and more anytime at meet the pressnbc.com. up next, we'll have more on iraq after this. [guy] i know what you're thinking-

you're thinking beneful. [announcer]beneful has wholesome grains,real beef,even accents of spinach,carrots and peas. [guy] you love it so much. yes you do. but it's good for you, too. [announcer] healthful. flavorful. beneful. from purina.

welcome back. welcome back. the u.s. is launching more air strikes as part of a joint operation with the kurds to recapture a dam in mosul. kurdish forces say they are now advancing on that dam. and on friday at least 80 yazidi men were reportedly killed by isis after refusing to convert in islam. but there was some welcome news for the u.s. this week with the

nomination ofh aider al abadi as prime minister to replace nuri al maliki. all this as hillary clinton apologized to president obama for saying she believes his failure to act in syria fueled the raise of isis. our chief global correspondent bill neely looks at whether america's latest intervention in iraq can be successful without going after isis strongholds in syria. >> reporter: the islamist militants of isis are on a fast march through the heart of the middle east. in iraq they've taken the second biggest city, mosul, and advanced to within an hour's drive of the capital, baghdad. in syria they're threatening the biggest city and killing off moderate rebel groups, many of them backed by the u.s. they are doing what al qaeda never did in the region, holding ground and defeating armies. american air strikes target its

fighters to halt the advance. in the last 24 hours and just half an hour's drive from here, american warplanes have hit isis targets nine times, but why is isis being hit here in iraq? why was the plight of the yaz i yazidis a trigger when the gassing of hundreds of syrians in syria last year and the killing of tens of thousands more maerited a threat from president obama and then no military action whatsoever. the president drew a red line in syria, but when the assad regime used chemical weapons in damascus, he pulled back from air strikes and struck a deal with assad's main ally, russia. questions are again being asked in washington and elsewhere about american power and the president's willingness to use it. but bombing isis and bombing syria are very different. the militants have no big country protecting them at the u.n. america attacked them to stop a

threatened genocide but also to protect its own facilities. >> we will continue air strikes to protect our people and facilities in iraq. >> reporter: questions are also being asked about america's strategy. striking a few isis vehicles will do little to halt their advance. >> our success means that a few million iraqi kurds are saved from isis and kurdistan is kept stable which is a great thing, but that means really nothing for the millions of arab-iraqis who are going to stay under isis rule for the foreseeage future. >> president obama wary of military action is now the fourth consecutive president to bomb iraq but now that he's started, when and why will he stop? isis is a threat way beyond syria and iraq. >> there's no political solution to the isis problem. isis has to be squeezed. it has to be deprived of oxygen, and it has to be confronted. >> reporter: analysts estimate perhaps 1,000 westerners have

joined its fight. among them dozens of americans. isis presents an indirect national security threat to the united states. isis wants to redraw the map of the middle east to establish the islamic state, the caliphate. it's already targeting not just syria and iraq but jordan, lebanon, and turkey. it has its sights on a far bigger prize. bill neely, nbc news, iraq. >> and to talk about the iraq crisis and the rest of the week's politics, the round table is here. anne gearan from "the washington post" who will be covering hillary clinton as well. jason riley, a member of the "wall street journal's" editorial board and author of "please stop helping us: how liberals make it harder for blacks to succeed," jane harman, president and ceo of the woodrow wilson international center for scholars and a former congresswoman from california, and republican congressman michael turner from ohio. welcome all. thanks so much.

anne, you just got back off another round the world trip with john kerry, and you have been spending so much time in iraq and afghanistan and the conflict zones. what about the argument that isis would not have taken hold if the administration had a year ago, labor day, gone after assad with air strikes and done more militarily to help the rebels there? >> there's a fair amount of evidence that isis could have been blunted some time back. you can pick various points where they were gathering strength, but when they were incubating in syria might have been a better time to have been paying more attention to how much weaponry they were amassing, what kind of training was happening, where they were getting their money. not that the obama administration wasn't paying any attention to it, but it seemed like a much more distant problem, and it's a problem that got so big so quickly that a lot of people are asking now, where

were some investigavector point stopping short of a military power, but other kinds of american influence might have been able to stop it. >> now we have military engagement described as a humanitarian mission, but then the president comes out and says we've done that. the yazidis are okay and now we see air strikes, really successive air strikes, to deal with retaking the dam in mosul, working with the kurds on the ground. are we involved in a war there? >> well, i think it's important that we protect our consulate in erbil. if that dam is -- floods, our consulate and a lot of people will be taken out by isis. i don't think we should consider isis a rational actor, by the way. and i take this very seriously. i spent years on the house intelligence committee and homeland committee, and i think we should have acted in syria. this was something i said at the time. i think we sent a signal to the

neighborhood that was disturbing. the saudis expected us to act and were very upset and still are that we didn't, but let me just say this about saudi arabia, where are they? if they think they can export terrorism again, they tried this with osama bin laden, i think they're wrong, and this big caliphate if it should come to be, god forbid and i think we will stop them, is going to have its center in saudi arabia. so this neighborhood better wake up. >> among the critics, by the way, all of you, is general jim jones, james jones, the first national security adviser to president obama. he wrote, mr. maliki's failure to unify iraq's diverse populations is the chief cause of the current crisis, but washington bears some blame for not taking timely action that could have limited this summer's chaos. the obama administration could have maintained a limited military training presence in iraq after 2011. could have acted in syria last year when the chemical weapons red line was crossed and could

have insisted mr. maliki arms the kurds. what matters more is what the u.s. can do now. congressman, you i think were going against going to syria, were against continued military action. >> what the president needs is a strategy and a plan. i think when we failed to garner the support for the action that he proposed in syria it was because he did not have a strategy and a plan and still we see the failure of that. the failure in his foreign policy and the neglect as anne was saying as this threat evolved in syria. isis didn't evolve out of thin air, they were emerging. and the neglect of the administration to work with iraq. we have seen now how unstable iraq is, how threatened they can be by isis. and then this very odd red line that the president established with the yazidis instead of when isis was establishing a stronghold with major infrastructure, threatening baghdad, mass killings, tens of thousands of refugees, the administration took action only when this was a humanitarian issue.

>> that is a question, whom do we save, jason? we don't save the syrians -- >> you don't save anyone. one problem is we've consistently underestimated isis. this is a committed group of extremists that broke off from al qaeda because they thought al qaeda was too moderate, and our policy needs to reflect that reality. i think the president has been obsessed with the political solution there, but the best political solution is to defeat isis. the kurds in the north, the sunni clerics in the west which isis now pretty much controls want to know that baghdad can protect them. defeating isis moves us toward that goal. >> hillary clinton, of course, has disagreed with the president about this. she did say this in her book "hard choices," but she made it a lot more explicit with jeff goldberg. first read was looking a the it this way, the problem for clinton when she distances herself from obama to a degree she distances herself from, well, herself. with the book rollout, she's been suggesting that her hard choices at the state department are a key qualifier for the 2016

bid so how much can she really pull away from the person who gave her the job? anne gearan there is the disloyalty issue among the base. >> yeah, she's got -- she thought she was addressing one problem and she created another. some distance from obama was inevitable. foreign policy is a very natural place for her to have some distance from him despite the fact that she implemented his foreign policy as secretary of state for four years. it's the issue on which the two of them disagreed most sharply during their own campaign. they do continue to have disagreements. it was natural and inevitable that there would be some distance created. the question for her politically is did she do it too fast for too much and is the backlash saying, hey, wait a minute, why are you going after our guy here from -- >> another question is how plausible is it? she can say i wanted to arm the opposition in syria, but she called assad a reformer and she refused to call for his ouster when the uprising began. she can say, oh, i deplore this

russian aggression but she was all for the russian reset. so there's a plausibility issue here as well. but, yeah, she's acting like a lot of democrats in the election cycle, trying to distance herself from a president whose approval rating has fallen. >> there are 2 1/2 years to go and there are opportunities to get this right. i think obama has made right choices in iraq right now and in ukraine, but what's still missing is a narrative that links everything together, and it's not just what our foreign policy actually is, it's how it's perceived in the middle east and how it's perceived in the middle east is don't do stupid stuff plus use drones and that is going to take a lot of work. one last comment on iraq and that is about the sunnis. let's understand that there is an opportunity now with this new government, applause, applause, applause, to get the sunnis back and to have a new sunni awakening which will hopefully defeat isis. >> but, congresswoman, is it too

late? we now have a new prime minister but he's been critical of the kurds in the past. it's yet to be proved that he's really going to be inclusive. >> this is a time for the president to engage. i think we've seen again as a result of the neglect that the president has had in his foreign policy with respect to iraq, the instability that has occurred. but the president also has to come to the recognition that isis is a threat to the united states. british prime minister cameron wrote in an op-ed he sees isis as a threat to britain and to the british. certainly this president needs to make the case and i think his policy should reflect it, that this is not just a threat to a stable iraq. this is a threat to national security. >> it means reconstituting the iraqi army, it means arming the kurds. air strikes is not going to get it done. containing isis will not eliminate the threat. >> it could also mean going after isis in syria which is going to be a whole different ball game, and there are a lot of people in the administration who are worried -- >> but not just the u.s. alone. let's understand -- >> there's another headline --

>> neighborhood challenge. >> another big headline is rick perry. we hear what rick perry had to say about the fact that he has been indicted on two felony charges for vetoing a bill and all this stemming from a democratic bastion, travis county, austin, there's a lot of questions about whether it's political. this is what he had to say. >> i intend to fight against those who would erode our state's constitution and laws purely for political purposes, and i intend to win. i'm confident that we will ultimately prevail, that this farce of a prosecution will be revealed for what it is, and those responsible will be held accountable. >> he's clearly been gearing up for a potential run for president. is this going to hurt him? >> i think everyone sees this is the criminalization of just the

legislative function. when you do that you weaken democracy. this is certainly a political attack and this is very bad precedent. >> before we go, i want to ask you about ferguson because you've writ an whole book "please stop helping us," what we've seen in ferguson certainly shows the disengagement between a local police force and the community. >> you could say that. i don't want to litigate this in the press. if the officer used excessive force, i think he should be prosecuted, but at the same time let's not pretend our morgues and cemeteries are full of young black men because cops are shooting them. the reality is it's because other black people are shooting them. and we need to talk about black criminality. blacks are only 13% of the population but they're 50% of homicide victims in this country and 90% of those victims are killed by other black people. we need to talk about that. >> we certainly saw that -- the blacks were the victims of the looting as well. >> at the same time the same weekend that this went down in

ferguson, we had 26 shootings in chicago, but al sharpton didn't head to chicago. he had he hadded to st. louis because he has an entirely different agenda -- >> we need a broader conversation. >> that is actually -- he's actually there on a peace mission today. before i go, i just want to say a word by monet davis. she's showing that throwing like a girl is a great thing to do. 70-mile-an-hour pitches in little league. what a great moment for this philly team and a shutout with a two-hitter. so you go, 13 years old. her goal is to go and be in the national league -- rather into major league baseball. thank you all, to a great round table. a lot to cover. coming up, remembering robin williams. barry levinson, director of some of the most memorable performances tells our harry smith just what made his friend so special.

>> there are a lot of talented people that come along, and there's only a few that are in some other class that you can't even define. >> and he was one of them. >> yeah. a body at rest tends to stay at rest...cs... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion.

because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions, or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. don't take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling

of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion.

as you may be aware, david gregory's final show as moderator of "meet the press" was last sunday. "meet the press" makes a lot of history, and a great deal of it was with david at the helm since he started in december 2008. vice president joe biden made front page news when he got ahead of the president in 2012 and embraced gay marriage. >> i am absolutely comfortable. >> and an important moment in the 2012 presidential primaries when david moderated a gop debate live on a sunday morning, just two days before the new hampshire primary. then there was david's landmark interview in afghanistan in 2010 with general david petraeus after he took command of u.s. and nato forces. before taking the "meet the

press" chair, david had a stellar eight years covering presidential politics and the white house for nbc news where he covered george w. bush from the first primaries to 9/11 and the wars in iraq and afghanistan. in 20 years with nbc news david has done it all. the o.j. simpson trial, timothy mcveigh and the oklahoma city bombing. "today" show guest hosting. >> and how you doing? >> and when the cameras weren't rolling dead on imitations of everyone from presidents of the united states to tom brokaw. through all the years david has been true to the traditions of this program and nbc news. >> if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." >> on thursday david tweeted, i leave nbc as i came, humbled and grateful. i love journalism, he wrote, and serving as moderator of "meet the press" was the highest honor there is. i have great respect for my colleagues at nbc news and wish them all well. to the viewers, i say thank you.

as david leaves nbc news for his next adventure, i will miss him as a daily colleague, but i know he will always be a friend. we'll be back with more right after this. don't wait for awesome... totino's pizza rolls... ...gets you there in just 60 seconds.

♪ [ female announcer ] when the pressure's on... only secret offers clinical strength invisible solid and clear gel with 100% odor protection. secret clinical strength. here now, a special edition of "images to remember" looking back over the extraordinary life of robin williams. ♪

>> robin williams was a force of nature with the ability to make just about anyone laugh, but he was also an accomplished dramatic actor winning an oscar for "good will hunting." barry levinson directed had i am in three films, including two of his more politically themed works "good morning, vietnam," and "man of the year." levinson spoke to our own harry smith about what made his friend such a special and unique talent. >> good morning, vietnam! this is not a test, this is rock and roll. >> in a sense it was like fireworks went off. >> freddie is the devil. >> it's like boom and then all of a sudden he's off to the races. >> picture a man going on a journey beyond sight and sound. >> and ideas are going through him so fast and coming out at lightning speed. >> he's left crete. he's entered the demilitarized

zone. >> to the point you go, how is this humanly possible? what is he connected to that it's not like here is a joke and then here's a joke. >> what do you use to look for them? well, we asked people are you the enemy and whoever says yes, we shoot them. >> it was like something that just came out in a way that he channeled something, and he could run with it and take you on that little ride. it was pretty extraordinary to see. >> barry levinson directed robin williams' first hit movie "good morning, vietnam." >> did you talk volupolitics? >> we did. it wasn't necessarily political to one or the other. it was this is what's wrong, this is what's crazy, and, you know, how come we can't address it and why is it so crazy? how is it we can't come to terms on some basic issues that

shouldn't become a political football of the left and right? >> nice to be in washington where the buck stops here. way to go. and then it's handed out to aig and many other people. now, i have the new timothy geithner $20 bill. it's just been printed, kind of neat. instead of in god we trust, it just says trust me. >> in 2005 williams and levinson teamed up again for "man of the year," a story about a comedy talk show host who decides to run for president. >> you can't spend $200 million on a campaign and not be owing people something. the next thick you know they have to deal with the special interests. the neck thing you know they're doing special favors for special people and not dealing with what you need. >> with all the comedy he would do there was something humanistic about it. it was never kind of an angry putting down. you know, he could show us how at times where we can be foolish and absurd, et cetera, but there

was something that -- there was a human with a certain degree of kindness to all of the work that he did. it's a very, very special person. >> politicians are a lot like diapers. they should be changed frequently and for the same reason. keep that in mind next time you vote. >> we spoke on the stage of the juilliard school where williams first learned his craft. >> you're trying to find your feet. you're trying to figure out how do i connect to an audience. how do i navigate that, and then the brain starts to go to work. well, this is good and this doesn't work. this isn't right. i need to do -- and so i'm sure there was that personality that began to take shape. >> right here. >> right here. >> and took off like a rocket ship. >> there are a lot of talented people that come along, and there's only a few that are in some other class that you can't even define. >> and he was one of them. >> yeah.

>> robin williams went on six uso tours from 2002 to 2013. he visited troops in the u.s. and 12 foreign countries making three stops in both iraq and afghanistan and traveling with him on the trip to afghanistan was our anne gearan. you had a remarkable experience with him. >> it was really funny. it was in iraq in 2010 with chairman mullen, and we were put up at one of those old saddam palaces that had been turned into a guest house, and he was given a big fancy suite but only half of it and the other half was three women journalists. the problem for him was there was only one bathroom and only one shower, and he did not get a shower because we kept, you know, taking a shower and then we'd go back in our room and he'd come in and knock, is it free yet? no, not quite. >> so you kept robin williams from having a shower. >> we did. he was charming about it. >> what an amazing person, and thank you to the round table and that's all for today. and we'll be back next week.

if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." i think the blood of michael brown and others cry from the grave that this should be a point where enough is enough. >> new demands for justice in ferguson, missouri and for the violence and looting to end. in just about an hour, community leaders hold a major rally there to honor 18-year-old michael brown and to call attention to the questions still remaining around his death. also, the u.s. ramping up its fight against isis militants in iraq. more air strikes today as u.s. fighter planes back up. the ongoing humanitarian effort. we'll have a live update f